Disney’s live-action Moana claimed the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend, but its $41 million debut fell well short of industry expectations and raised fresh questions about the studio’s remake strategy.
The film earned $41 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada and $95 million worldwide. While that was enough for first place, the opening was soft for a movie carrying a reported $250 million production budget and one of Disney’s most recognizable modern franchises.
The result follows another underwhelming family-film launch. Universal’s Minions & Monsters opened to $37 million over the previous weekend, also below expectations. With Toy Story 5 finishing third, the top three films were all aimed squarely at families.
That kind of family-dominated chart is rare. The last time three family titles occupied the top three spots was Thanksgiving weekend in 2010, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Tangled and Megamind led the box office.
The family-heavy marketplace may also have worked against Moana. Disney released Toy Story 5 on June 19, giving Pixar’s sequel several weeks to establish itself before Minions & Monsters and Moana entered the same lane. With three major studio films chasing the same audience, something had to give.
This weekend, it was Moana.
A No. 1 opening that still feels like a disappointment
The live-action remake arrives only 10 years after Disney’s animated original, one of the shortest gaps between an animated film and its live-action counterpart.
That decision was understandable. The 2016 Moana has remained one of Disney+’s most-watched films, while 2024’s Moana 2 became a global blockbuster, earning more than $1 billion worldwide.
But the contrast between the two films is stark.
Moana 2 opened to $139.8 million domestically in November 2024. The live-action version’s $41 million debut represents only 29% of that total.
The remake also cost considerably more. Disney reportedly spent $250 million on the new film, compared with approximately $150 million for Moana 2. Using the industry’s rough rule that a film may need to earn around 2.5 times its production budget to break even theatrically, Moana could require approximately $625 million in worldwide box office to reach profitability.
Based on its opening, that now appears highly unlikely.
Audiences are warmer than critics
Critics have largely rejected the remake, which currently holds a 34% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences have been much kinder, giving the film a 90% score.
That divide suggests the movie may still have some staying power with families, even if reviewers see it as another unnecessary entry in Disney’s live-action remake pipeline.
The new version closely follows the original story, with Catherine Laga’aia taking over the title role after an extensive international casting search. Dwayne Johnson returns as Maui and also serves as a producer through Seven Bucks Productions.
Director Thomas Kail, best known for Hamilton, shot the film in Hawaii and worked with Polynesian cultural advisers throughout production. Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated films, serves as an executive producer.
Still, the larger question remains: did audiences need a live-action version this soon?
For years, Disney’s remake strategy produced enormous returns. Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Jungle Book and The Lion King all became global hits, with several crossing the $1 billion mark.
But those films revisited properties that had been part of popular culture for decades. Moana is still relatively new, still widely watched in animated form and still connected to a sequel released less than two years ago.
The remake’s weak debut may be a sign that familiarity alone is no longer enough.
Minions & Monsters takes second
Universal’s Minions & Monsters fell to second place with $20.5 million, dropping 45% in its second weekend.
The animated sequel has now earned $108.3 million domestically and $280 million worldwide. While it will likely become profitable thanks to its relatively modest $85 million production budget, its performance remains significantly behind 2024’s Despicable Me 4.
After 12 days, Minions & Monsters is running approximately 52% behind its predecessor domestically. The film may ultimately succeed financially, but the sharp decline from the franchise’s previous installment is something Universal and Illumination will be watching closely.
Toy Story 5 remains the family champ
Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 finished third with $18.5 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $403.8 million and its worldwide haul to $879.1 million.
The sequel continues to outperform Toy Story 4 at the same point in release and is on track to become one of the franchise’s biggest domestic performers.
Unlike Moana and Minions & Monsters, Toy Story 5 has enjoyed strong reviews from both critics and audiences, with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 92% and 95%, respectively.
That reception, combined with its earlier release date, has allowed the Pixar sequel to remain the dominant family title of the summer.
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Evil Dead Burn opens in fourth
Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Burn debuted in fourth place with $13.7 million.
Directed by Sébastien Vaniček and produced by longtime franchise stewards Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, the horror sequel reportedly has a $20 million budget. That keeps its financial threshold relatively low, though its opening came in well below the $24.5 million debut of Evil Dead Rise in 2023.
The film currently holds a 71% critics score and an 82% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The summer box office needs a boost
The total domestic box office reached approximately $125 million for the weekend, well below the comparable frame last year, when Superman alone opened to $125 million and all films combined earned $201.2 million.
The first two weekends of the third quarter have now both trailed their 2025 counterparts, putting pressure on the next wave of major releases.
Help may arrive quickly.
Universal’s The Odyssey opens next weekend, with advance sales reportedly surging for IMAX and premium-format screenings. The film is on track to become the largest opening of Christopher Nolan’s career.
Sony’s Spider-Man: Brave New World follows on July 31 and is expected to become one of the year’s biggest releases. Those films now carry even more weight after two consecutive weekends of softer-than-expected business.
For Disney, though, the message from Moana is more immediate. The movie may have finished first, but No. 1 does not always mean victory.
